An Expression of Gratitude
by NikaylaSarae
Summary: It's not easy to talk to someone when they're actively avoiding you. Especially when that person is your number one KID suspect, Kuroba Kaito.


Saguru wasn't one for crowds. If asked, he would say that he prefered to be home reading his favorite Sherlock Holmes novels. But after a week in the hospital where he had all too much time on his own to read, Saguru needed a change of pace.

Though with the revelry of the crowd at the amusement park that he now found himself in...he really was beginning to think he should have stayed home.

Keeping his injured right arm close to his chest, where it would be less likely to be hit by passersby, he pushed through the people, strangers and his fellow students alike. Looking for somewhere that would be relatively more quiet.

It was by chance that he caught sight of a familiar head of messy hair, heading towards the Ferris Wheel.

Kuroba.

He followed on instinct, shadowing his KID suspect as Kuroba easily moved through the crowd, threading through the throng of people like they weren't even there.

Saguru frowned as he less skillfully wound his way through the crowd. He could have called out to him, but Kuroba had been actively avoiding him ever since the accident at the KID heist.

Not that anyone else would have realized it. But there had been a distinct lack of barbed words tossed his way, and the level of pranks pulled on him in the classroom had been drastically reduced. Enough to keep up appearances, but not enough to antagonize his injuries. Which, since none of his classmates had known he'd been unconscious in the hospital for three days, let alone suffering from some fractured ribs and a broken arm...meant that Kuroba had access to knowledge he shouldn't have.

After all, Saguru had specifically requested a cast that would be light weight and that he could hide under his shirt sleeve. He'd been careful to move normally, yet Kuroba had avoided those injuries flawlessly even as he pretended he knew nothing.

He didn't know nothing though. Saguru was sure of it. He'd studied Kuroba enough during class, and, if he was KID, at his heists to be a good judge of Kuroba's body language. His classmate may be able to hide the emotions on his face, but his eyes and body told him that Kuroba wasn't doing well. There were faint bags under those blue eyes, hidden by light makeup from his fellow classmates, telling the tale of sleepless nights. The way his fingers constantly twitched as if adjusting the aim of his grappling gun, probably meant he was remembering Saguru's fall. The way his shoulders shifted into the slightest of hunches whenever Kuroba looked in Saguru's direction, it all told the story of regret. Regret that KID hadn't been able to prevent Saguru from getting hurt. That his 'no one gets hurt policy' had been broken that night.

Saguru exhaled. He really needed to set the record straight. Though with Kuroba denying that he was KID, it wasn't going to be easy.

Yet somehow, the Gods seemed to smile on him, for there was no line for the Ferris Wheel when Kaito got into an empty Pod, moving to the far side to look out into the distance. Which meant that Saguru too could slip inside without Kuroba realizing he was approaching. The doors clicked shut two seconds later, and Saguru leaned against the pod in quiet relief. It was just the two of them. Which meant.

"Hey." He said, and couldn't help but smile as Kuroba jumped, whirling around to face him. He saw the flash of panic on his classmate's face before the mask jumped back up.

Kuroba groaned, looking heavenwards. "Hakuba." He said like it was a curse. Normal for him. "You couldn't have waited for a different pod?"

Saguru shrugged, pushing away from the wall, flinching as it jarred his ribs. He noted the flash of concern in Kuroba's eyes, the way his hand twitched before he could stop it. "Not when I needed to talk to you."

Kuroba frowned. "To me? Why?" He asked crossing his arms. "I'm not letting you copy the assignments you missed while you were on your little trip. Go ask Aoko."

Saguru shook his head, taking a seat. "It's not that. Though I do have a favor to ask of you, if you wouldn't mind."

Kuroba raised an eyebrow. "Depends on the favor." He said warily.

"It's nothing strenuous. I just want you to pass along a message for me." Saguru replied.

"A message. To who?"

"To KID." Saguru said shrugging, and wincing again as it jarred his ribs. "You're his biggest fan right?" he added as Kuroba stayed silent, probably wondering why Saguru wasn't accusing him yet again of being KID. "I figured you may have a means of passing a message to him."

Kuroba turned his head away, his features in shadows. "Why not talk to him yourself at his next heist?" He asked and Saguru relaxed.

At least Kuroba was willing to go along with this charade of a conversation. They both knew he suspected him of being KID, but at least in this way he could get his message to the thief without it implicating anything on Kuroba's side.

"I doubt he'd stick around long enough for me to say anything."

Kuroba snorted, fingers twitching again. "Considering your goal in life is to capture him, I could see that."

Saguru nodded. "Exactly." Though in reality it would be that KID would be avoiding him because he felt guilty for what had happened to him. "Hence why, if you could reach him. Please give him my thanks." He said watching Kuroba intently for a reaction. "For saving my life at that heist."

Kuroba turned abruptly, hands coming down to grip the railing around the inside of the pod. He stared out to the amusement park below. "I doubt he'd think he deserves it. Your thanks." He said quietly.

No exclamations of surprise. No questions about what happened. Saguru mentally congratulated himself. It wasn't proof, but it did show that Kuroba knew more about Saguru's 'mini vacation' from school than the rest of his classmates. "If it weren't for him and his actions, I would have fallen to my death, Kuroba-kun." Saguru replied, rubbing his arm. "For that I am grateful. A broken arm is nothing compared to being laid six feet in the ground."

Kuroba winced visibly at that.

Saguru stood, and crossed the distance between them, placing his left hand on Kuroba's shoulder, turning his classmate to face him. "You may not know this." He knew Kuroba knew everything. "But if it weren't for his grappling gun wrapping around my arm, and jerking me to a stop, I would have died. So what? I may have had it broken in the process. I may have slammed into the wall and cracked a few ribs as well as ended up in a brief coma. But I'm alive." He squeezed Kuroba's shoulder. "So please, tell him to stop beating himself up about it. He saved my life. And I'm grateful to him for it." He kept eye contact with his classmate, hoping that he could see that he meant what he said. He held no grudge against the thief.

Kuroba slumped suddenly against the wall, head bowed. "I-I'll see what I can do." he mumbled.

Saguru smiled with relief, letting go of his shoulder. "Thanks, Kuroba-kun." He said moving to the opposite end of the pod to give Kuroba some space. He didn't know what else to say to his classmate now that he'd gotten his message across. And with the Ferris Wheel just stopping at the top of its journey...it meant they had approximately another three and a half minutes before their pod would reach the ground.

Saguru exhaled slowly, so as not to disturb his ribs and sat down in the seat nearby. Well, at least he'd a little bit of quiet here, up above the noise of the crowds.

He looked up in surprise as Kuroba sat down across from him. Kuroba shrugged at the silent question and tilted his head, a careful light in his eyes. "Does it hurt? Your arm?" he asked. "That grappling hook can't have been gentle."

Saguru quirked a small smile. Did Kuroba know from experience? "It hurt worse a few days ago, when the wounds from the hook were fresher." He raised a placating hand as Kuroba winced. "Sorry. It's fine. The drugs have taken the edge off."

"It's going to scar though."

"Yah, I suppose it will. But I'll be able to still use my hand. It didn't get any tendons and the muscles will heal with therapy."

Kuroba grimaced, looking away again. "Well...I suppose it beats being dead." He remarked.

Saguru nodded, "or shot. I've heard that hurts worse."

Kuroba raised a hand to his chest, rubbing it in an absent gesture. "Ha. You get shot often, Hakuba?"

"No, you?"

Kuroba rolled his eyes, dropping his hand. "Why would anyone want to shoot a magician?"

Hakuba snorted. He could name a few people. Namely the shadow ones that occasionally attended KID's heists. "I dunno, I've thought about it a time or two."

Kuroba turned to Saguru looking at him with wide innocent eyes. "You have?" he asked in surprise. "Why?" The slight smile tugging at his lips told Saguru that Kuroba definitely knew the reason why.

Saguru shrugged, again wincing. He needed to stop doing that or his ribs would never heal. "Come on, Kuroba-kun. After all the pranks you've put me through in the past six months, you'd want to shoot yourself too if you were in my shoes. My dry cleaning bill alone is through the roof. And that's not just your pranks. I deal with KID's too you know."

Kuroba shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "Use baby powder for mine." He offered after a moment. "If that doesn't work, use lemon juice."

Saguru blinked. Was that advice for just Kuroba's pranks? Or had he also given him the solution to KID's as well? He'd have to test it out and see. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

Kuroba shrugged, glancing at Saguru again with that careful light in his eyes. "You're welcome I suppose…." He hesitated as the pod came to a stop at the bottom. He stood abruptly. "And…" He grimaced shaking his head before he offered a more genuine smile. With a gesture of his hand, a small container appeared on his finger tips. He handed it to Saguru. "This is….is from KID." He said his shoulders tensing as he did so. "Rub that on your arm nightly, it will help with the scarring, Hakuba."

Saguru took the container, surprised at the gesture. "Again, thank you, Kuroba-kun." He said popping it open to check out the cream within. Was this one of Kuroba's homemade tinctures? Aoko had mentioned that he had a variety of creams on hand for when his magic tricks went wrong. The fact that he was offering one to help Saguru out….it said a lot. Especially when his classmate had just stated it was from KID.

Kuroba shrugged. "Don't mention it." He said moving to the door as it slid open. He glanced back to Saguru. "Ever."

Saguru nodded at the thinly veiled warning. Kuroba was extending a little bit of trust in doing this, placing himself at a slight risk of discovery. Though Saguru had, from the start, no intention of using any information he may have gained from their conversation against Kuroba. This moment had been about easing KID/Kuroba's guilt. Nothing more.

Perhaps, Saguru thought as he watched his classmate disappear into the crowd, perhaps getting injured was the start of a different sort of relationship between them. No longer as enemies...but maybe as friends.

Only time would tell.

Saguru slipped the container into his pocket. It was a start, he thought with a smile on his lips as he too stood and left the pod, moving into a crowd that no longer felt as oppressive as it had been.

* * *

Notes:

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

-The Ferris Wheel used as a setting in this story is imagined as being similar to the one from Detective Conan Movie 20 The Darkest Nightmare.


End file.
